Stories

From the 2nd to the 10th of December 2016, eleven students and two teachers from Nordskov School in Haslev, Denmark visited St. Marks Girls Senior Secondary School in New Delhi, India. The connection has been made through the organization AEC Net.

Driving from the airport to the school we had to stop because of a holy cow which crossed the road. Already here we knew we would have one purpose of the travel fulfilled: to have strong experiences in a very different culture. Upon arrival at the school teachers and students hung garlands around our necks and they painted a red dot in our forehead as a symbol that we the forthcoming week also would see with the eye of our mind. We felt we had been invited inside the Indian culture.

In the beautiful garden of the school students and teachers served a tasty meal consisting of typical Indian dishes. The Danish and Indian students knew each other from the Indians visit to Denmark 6 months prior. During the welcome meal, the European and Asian students reestablished the contact and friendship.

The Danish students lived two and two with the Indian students’ families. The private accommodation has great value in an exchange program. Every morning when we met, the Danish young people told about their experiences with the families. They were given a valuable insight into the everyday of local families.

Sunday two teachers from St. Marks took us on a “Heritage Tour” in Delhi. We visited a Catholic Church, The Bahái Lotus Temple, Gurudwara Bangla Sahib – the temple of the Sikhs and the Muslim Qutb Minar complex. It was exciting as well as a thought-provoking tour where we were given an insight in the religious complexity which exist in the predominantly Hindu India. Today’s Heritage Tour also showed us a very profane part of modern Delhi; traffic chaos.

The Danish students followed the teaching and workshops at the school for three days. Here we experienced that the student in the Indian school has a lot more respect for the teacher than the Danish student. We were also fortunate to participate in the annual dance show for the 3rd classes and their parents in the auditorium of the school. Discipline, joy and cooperation had created a really great show. All we Danes thought that the little girls’ dances and songs were worthy of a tour for a public audience.

As a closing on our travelling we went on a two-day trip to Agra. It was a magnificent experience standing at Taj Mahal. One of the Worlds new seven wonders. The Agra Fort in Agra was also interesting. But it did just as big an impression to walk the streets during the evening in Agra. It was a total contrast to the streets of our own small village where there are only few people, no animals running around and very clean. All of us, teachers as well as students, are very grateful for having taken part in this amazing trip to St. Marks Senior Secondary Public School in New Delhi. We thank the Indian teachers, students and parents from the bottom of our hearts that they showed us their country. Especially thank you to Anjali Handa and Arpita Bose Dutta for their commitment.